Trade Off
by dobe-uchiha-teme
Summary: It sounds ridiculous but when Uchiha Sasuke left the village as a missing-nin that night, he had forgotten to take something with him.


**Title: Trade Off**

**Rated: T**

**Summary: It sounds ridiculous but when Uchiha Sasuke left the village as a missing-nin, he had forgotten to take something with him.**

**Genre: Romance, slight fluff**

**Word Count: 1k words**

**A/N: hi there thank you for the reviews on my previous pieces.**

This is a more sentimental piece happening between the part when Sasuke left the village (after knocking Sakura out) and actually being chased down by his peers.  


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It sounds ridiculous but when Uchiha Sasuke left the village as a missing-nin, he had forgotten to take something with him.

It was a small heirloom passed down from the Uchiha clan. A golden necklace with the clan symbol as the pendant. He couldn't leave without it, not when it's the reason he's going in the first place.

Cursing under his breath, the raven-haired boy jumped onto the tree on his right before making a u-turn back to the gates of Konoha.

After several chakra-boosted sprints and then some stealthy sneaking (when he was closer to the village), he walked past the bench with Sakura still lying on it, unconscious from his attack. Clenching his jaws, he ran straight for the Uchiha district and went toward his parents' room.

He hasn't stepped in here since that night, the memories too strong and painful to bear with. Quickly, he dug his nails into his palms, trying to calm himself down while ransacking every nook and cranny.

The necklace was found in his mother's jewellery box, locked in some drawer which he had to use his lock-picking skills to get out. He could have just forced it open, but then again it hurt too much to destroy anything more with the Uchiha crest on it.

Glancing at the wall clock, the soon-to-be-missing ninja muttered another string of curses before leaping out of the district.

He could go via a shortcut to Orochimaru's hideout, but that would mean going by the Dobe's house.

...maybe it's not such a bad idea...? He already met Sakura who tried to stop him...maybe he could see him for one last time...

Berating himself for such sentimental thoughts, he jumped from roof to roof, letting his conscience bring him to the place he really wanted to go.

And unsurprisingly, Sasuke found himself outside Naruto's room, perched on the ledge of the window.

The said blond was currently snoring his heart out, ridiculous night cap fallen off in the midst of his tossing and turning.

Sasuke landed soundlessly in his room, nose twitching at the slight smell of ramen. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, to be really honest. The place just smelled pretty much like Naruto.

"Hdhhfsjn..."

Sasuke whipped out a kunai in sharp reflex, only to see the idiot furrowing his eyebrow and scratching above his tattoo on his exposed stomach, still fast asleep.

Sighing at his ridiculous reaction, the young Uchiha kept the kunai back into the pouch, and asked himself what he was doing here again.

Oh right, sentimental goodbyes.

It was difficult, leaving the village that he grew up in. It meant leaving the comfort (minus the terrible nightmares) of this place, and the annoying team he was in, whose members actually slowly but surely crept into some hidden part of his heart. His true feelings betrayed his logic, the latter remaining firm on its revenge.

No one forced him to go, but he knew he had to.

And that was why he was here (though he would never confess).

He was here to apologise for leaving. He didn't have to, but again, he felt obligated to this Usuratonkachi who, as idiotic and loud and annoying as he can be, managed to affect Sasuke in such special ways.

He knew the blond (now grinning in his sleep) understood him the best, although he openly argued that Naruto never did.

Naruto was so, so annoying. Always trying to find faults in him and challenging him to useless duels knowing Sasuke would kick his ass without batting an eyelash. But yet he still tried, and tried again.

It's like having a tick that you can't remove.

But this tick was slowly sucking his blood, bit by bit, creeping into his system and making him unbalanced.

Ironically, he also knew it was the blond that kept him sane. He knew he needed Naruto. But this was as far as their friendship can go. Circumstances would not allow anything more, though he knew that when Naruto eventually caught up to him (he's already expecting it), the stubborn blond would convince Sasuke that if he stayed, things could end differently.

Sasuke would say he disagree, while berating himself for secretly agreeing with the Dobe.

Snapping out of his reverie, he walked towards said boy, a hand held out precariously above the messy bed hair. Slowly and tentatively, he touched the blond locks, surprised at the softness of it.

That's what Naruto was. Rough on the outside, seemingly difficult to break, but really, the boy was soft deep within his heart.

And as the sleeping boy leaned slightly into his touch, Sasuke noticed how close he was to the scarred face and the long golden eyelashes.

Before he did something he would (_maybe_) regret, Sasuke strengthened his resolve, whispered his goodbye and left as quietly as he came.

The stoic raven would never admit it, but he knew that the something tugging at his chest was not anger or guilt, but_ longing_.

He hoped Naruto would never find out.

Little did he realise that in his hastiness to escape, he had left a small part of himself with the blond.

Shimmering in the moonlight on the bedroom floor sat the very pendant he had came back to retrieve.

But when Sasuke _did_ finally realise, he shook his head and chuckled softly, making no attempts to go back again.

Well, it was a much needed trade off.

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**Please review? *cherries with a Sasuke on top***


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